


somewhere in between, with only two (just you and me)

by lunarlane



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Driving, Friendship, Gen, Platonic Relationships, Robin Buckley & Steve Harrington Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-27
Updated: 2019-07-27
Packaged: 2020-07-20 16:11:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19995028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunarlane/pseuds/lunarlane
Summary: It’s sort of a serene feeling, because now, in this very moment, he is truly content. Sure, college would have been nice, but if he had gotten into college, he wouldn’t have met Robin, and that in itself would be a tragedy. So, for now, sitting on the couch in his parents’ cold, empty house with the girl he never thought he would be friends with, was exactly where Steve wanted to be.





	somewhere in between, with only two (just you and me)

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is the first thing I have ever really written, so please be kind and excuse any errors!
> 
> Title is from 'Better Together by Jack Johnson'

For once, Steve feels like things might have changed for the better, and he can’t help but hope that it stays that way.

Looking back, the past few years really did make all of the difference. He went from being a little kid practically living alone and nervous for high school to a teenager who wanted to party his life away to a teenager who had seen too much and fallen in love with a girl to a teenager who had no future and was nursing a broken heart. Now he is kind of an adult, working in a video store, and loves a new girl in a completely different way than the one previously mentioned. 

It is mostly dark outside, but the lamp on the side table and the light from the kitchen casts a warm glow over the living room. Scattered across the coffee table are the remains of a pizza and cans of soda. The two teens lay on the couch, each with their heads resting on a pillow at opposite ends and Robin’s legs on top of Steve’s. Neither are paying an ounce of attention to the show, instead they are fully immersed in their own conversation.

“You are not just making this up right? Dustin actually told you that?” Robin huffs, holding back laughter. 

Steve nods his head, eyes growing wide. “Yes! He really told me that Suzie said kissing was better without teeth!” This makes Robin throw her head back in laughter. Steve joins her, but after a moment, his laughter subsides, while Robin continues in her fit of giggles. He finds himself just watching the girl across from him and a warm, fuzzy, fondness comes over him. It kind of reminds him of the fluffy socks Robin has been wearing since the weather got colder as it transitioned into fall. Steve can’t help but recognize all of the good she has brought into his life. Three years ago he would have been looking for a party with Tommy H. and Carol, and even six months ago he would have been desperately searching for a girl to spend some time with (whether or not it was a date or something more). It’s sort of a serene feeling, because now, in this very moment, he is truly content. Sure, college would have been nice, but if he had gotten into college, he wouldn’t have met Robin, and that in itself would be a tragedy. So, for now, sitting on the couch in his parents’ cold, empty house with the girl he never thought he would be friends with, was exactly where Steve wanted to be. 

Of course Robin notices that he goes quiet. She pulls him out of his head, because she always does. “Hey, what are you looking at, dingus?” 

“Nothing, sorry.” Steve’s cheeks flush, not because he is embarrassed that he was staring, but more so that he got caught thinking too much again.

“Steve. You have nothing to apologize for. You don’t have to tell me what’s going through that head of yours, but I’m here and I’m listening if you want to.” She says, nudging his leg lightly with her sock clad foot.

He realizes then that she is all he has been missing all of these years. Steve has spent so much of his life helplessly searching for something, anything to fill this aching void. First it was Tommy H. and Carol and their wild and teenage antics. Then it was Nancy and loving her with every piece of him, despite her not doing the same for him. And for a while now, it has been driving Dustin wherever he might need to go and flirting with every girl that looked his direction. But there was always a lack. No matter what he did, he never felt complete. Until now. Looking at Robin, he knows that Tommy H. and Carol and Nancy, and hell, even his past self would never approve. She is so different than anyone he has ever known, with her sarcastic remarks and fingernails always painted a dark color and her clunky boots that she swears are edgy. But, Steve can’t bring himself to even care a little that the people whose opinions used to matter the most to him wouldn’t give her their stamp of approval, because he did. She is his friend- no, she is his best friend.

“You are my best friend, Robin. You know that, right?” Steve has this soft look on his face, not really ashamed or worried, just kind of gentle.

“Don’t be such a sap, Stevie. Of course I know that.” She laughs lightly, but then really notices the look on his face and knows that his mind is going at a million miles per hour. When they went to school together, she might have said that she wasn’t sure that Steve had a single thought that went through his head ever, but now she knows him well enough to know that is quite the opposite. He is constantly thinking and worrying about those he cares about. Steve Harrington has a heart of gold, it just took her some time to figure it out. “C’mon. Talk to me.” She whispers.

Steve takes in a deep breath and casts his eyes downward, so he doesn’t have to look at Robin. “I’ve never had someone care about me the way you do. I know it’s cheesy, but you are quite literally the best friend I have ever had. And I’ve never had something like this. In the past, I’ve had to be doing something to have fun with my friends. But with you, my ideal night is exactly this. I have no desire to party or do stupid shit the way I used to at all anymore. I’d rather just sit here with you and eat pizza and pretend like we are going to watch something even though we both know we will never get around to it. I love it, I really do, but sometimes it feels overwhelmingly foreign.”

Her face softens and she hangs on to every word he says, really listening. She nudges him with her foot again in an attempt to get him to stop looking at the floor. “I know what you mean. I have had friends before, but never like this. In a way, our weird little friendship feels so much more real than anything I have ever known before. I wouldn’t change it for the world, though.” She can’t stop the faint smile from appearing on her face. “After all, you are my best friend, too. You are the bestest friend I have ever had. And that’s not even a word.”

This makes Steve laugh and the energy in the room shifts. Both of them and everything around them feels lighter. “Thanks, featherhead. You always know the right thing to say.” He is genuinely smiling now and has begun to pick at the fuzz on her socks. Robin sits up at this, pulling her pillow out from behind her. She sloppily throws it at the boy across from her, barely hitting him.

“Not that stupid nickname! You know I hate it!”

“Please! You know you love it!” Steve insists, poorly pretending to be offended. 

Robin fails to hide her smile and stifle her laughs. “I really really don’t! It’s pretty much the worst!” Steve sits himself up as well, and the two of them are face to face, with their legs stretched out between them. For just a second, the only sounds in the room are the laugh track on the TV and the two of them holding in giggles. Then, the peace is quickly ruined but Steve’s stomach growling.

“Are you kidding me? How are you hungry? We ate just…” She trails off, looking down at her watch, hair falling in her face. She looks back up quickly. “Holy shit, it’s 10. We ate 5 hours ago.”

Steve lightly pushes Robin’s legs off of his and stands up. “I’m going to find food. Are you coming or what?”

“Fine. Pull me up.” She sighs, sticking out her arms. Steve grabs her hands and drags her forward, pulling her off of the couch. The two of them head into the kitchen, Steve going for the fridge, while Robin hoists herself onto the countertop. The boy quickly surveys the food in the fridge, then switches to the pantry, then back to the fridge.

“Damn it. I forgot to go grocery shopping and my parents have been out of town for god knows how long. We have absolutely no food.” He hangs his head in defeat.

Robin rolls her eyes. “Okay, well then let’s go grocery shopping.” Steve’s head pops up and he meets her eye, confusion written on his face.

“We can’t. Melvald’s closes at 8.”

“There is a seven eleven like 15 minutes from here. I’m sure they have enough to hold us over for tonight. Then, tomorrow, after our shift, I will make sure you go get some real food.” She says, swinging her legs back and forth.

Steve furrows his brows at this statement. “Define real food. I can’t cook. You know that.”

“No shit, Harrington. I’m gonna cook and teach you how. You can’t live off of microwavable meals forever.”

“Alright, alright. No need to get sassy, Buckley.” He responds, shaking his head and grabbing his keys off of the counter. Robin hops down, and they both head toward the door, stopping to shove their feet in their beat up sneakers. Neither realized that it was pouring until walking outside, so the two scurry over to Steve’s car and quickly pile in. Robin immediately goes for the small box of cassettes she has helped Steve pick out in an attempt to teach him real taste. As he is about to pull out of the driveway, Steve notices that she has not buckled her seatbelt. “Hey, buckle up. We wear seatbelts in this car.”

“Fine, dad.” Robin grumbles. Steve begins to drive and she quickly picks up the box she set down back up. This is when she notices a couple of new tapes have joined the small collection. As she grabs the first one, she audibly gasps. “No way. You did not actually buy a Wham tape, right? This has to be a joke. Did you buy this?” Robin has turned sideways in her seat and is facing Steve, waving the cassette around dramatically.

Steve perks up at this. “Yeah! I did. One of their songs has been playing in the store lately and I thought it was pretty catchy!” Oblivious to the fact that she is teasing him, it is at this moment that he gets a glance at the expression on her face and realizes that she is not proud of him for this purchase. “Why? Do you not like Wham?”

“Hell no! Steve!” She says, exasperated. 

He pulls up to a stoplight and red illuminates the car. Steve now gets to turn and look at Robin. “What? Quit judging me. You were the one who said I needed to listen to more music!”

“Yeah, and I meant like Stevie Nicks or the Cure, or hell, even Tears for Fears is better than Wham!” She turns back to face forward and shakes her head. “I cannot believe I am best friends with someone who listens to fucking Wham.” 

“Hey! You only like Stevie Nicks because you have a huge crush on her!” Steve responds. Robin audibly gasps at this, putting her hand over her heart.

“How dare you! Her music is art. She also happens to be very pretty, but that is a plus. And you know that you have a crush on her, too!”

“Okay, Okay. You have a point. I bought a couple of other new cassettes, too. Are they just as bad?” Robin begins looking through the box again, studying two other tapes.

“Let me look. You got Bowie and The Cars, which are actually both pretty good! Did you pick them out or did someone help you?” she questions, accusatory.

“I picked them out.” Steve answers proudly, not taking his eyes off of the road.

Robin smiles and pats Steve on the shoulder. “I knew you had to have at least some taste buried deep in there somewhere.” She finally decides to pop a tape in and the soft sound of music flows from the speakers. The rest of the car ride is quiet, with just the two of them humming along with the song. Hawkins is sort of like a ghost town at night and the streets are almost completely empty, leaving Steve and Robin seeming like the only two people in the world. When they pull up to the parking lot of the seven eleven, there is only one other car and the fluorescent sign reflects off of the wet pavement. The rain has begun to slow down and the teens head inside. The store is small and completely empty, other than the cashier staring boredly at the TV behind the desk which is silent, instead noise comes from the radio playing in the background.

“Alright, dingus, let’s get you some food.” Robin leans over a grabs a basket from the stack by the door. They begin to walk around aimlessly, picking out random snacks off of the shelves. Chips, pretzels, and cereal have made their way into the basket when the song on the radio changes, suddenly playing Wake Me Up Before You Go Go. “Of fucking course.” Robin mumbles. Steve starts laughing.

“It’s catchy! I told you people like it!”

Robin tilts her head slightly to the side, giving Steve the stink eye. “I never said people didn’t like it or it wasn’t catchy, I just said that it is shit music.” The two of them pick out a couple more snacks and then check out. The cashier thanks them and tells them to have a nice night in a very monotone voice. Steve and Robin exit the store in a fit of giggles, stumbling into each other, and pile back into the car.

“Well, he was pleasant.” Steve laughs.

“He must hate his job more than we hated scoops! I didn’t even know that was possible!” Robin snorts. 

Still smiling, Steve chuckles. “God, don’t remind me. That job was the fucking worst.” He pulls the car out of the lot, and begins the drive home. Robin goes quiet for a minute, not even bothering to play another tape.

Suddenly, she inhales deeply. “Hey Steve, can I ask you a question?” He takes his eyes off of the road briefly, looking at her in concern.

“Yeah, of course. Shoot.”

“Do you ever think about leaving here? I have been thinking about college lately, and I used to be so certain that I wanted to go but now I am not so sure. I mean, hell, I don’t have any idea what I want to do with my life.” She pauses, picking at her cuticles nervously. “I just know that I don’t want to live in Hawkins forever but I’m also scared to go somewhere else. I know that it would be so hard for you to leave, especially with Dustin being here and the fact that so much has happened. Do you ever think you could do it?”

Steve seems to contemplate this for a moment, then he begins to answer. “Sure, I mean of course I think about it. I just don’t know that I will ever be able to. Partly because of Dustin and the fear that something might happen again and I wouldn’t be here to help, but also because I can’t get into college and I’m not sure how else I would get to leave. You, however, are a brilliant little mind and I would hate to see you not do something with that. I know if I could get in, I would probably go.” 

“Here’s the thing though, I don’t really want to go unless you come with me. That kind of sounds stupid and clingy, I know. But you are kind of the only person I feel truly comfortable around and the idea of leaving you behind makes me feel sick. Chicago has some cool schools that I might consider, and a couple of community colleges if that is something you would be interested in. We could both get jobs and rent an apartment together. I don’t know, it might be stupid. I just can’t really imagine my life without you in it at this point. And before you say that we could still be friends if I left and you didn’t, which I know is true, I just… it just wouldn’t be right without you there too.” Robin’s voice is soft and heavy with doubt.

“Chicago, huh? I could see us living there. I mean as much as I don’t want to leave the people I would have to behind, we deserve to get to go live our lives, you know? So yeah, Chicago. That sounds just about perfect to me.” Steve responds without an ounce of uncertainty in his voice, never taking his eyes off of the road ahead.

Her face softens and she feels like she can breathe again. “You mean that?”

“Yeah, I do. You, Me, and Chicago. Let’s do it.” He says, turning to look at her briefly, smiling. “After all, we are better together. And besides, you could totally use a wingman.”

“Me? Please, you are the one who needs help with dating.” Robin scoffs. For the first time that day, the rain had stopped. The stars began to shine through as the clouds pulled away. “But you are right about one thing, we are better together.”

The two teens continue to make their way home, laughing and singing along to the music Robin picks the whole way. They both know that the conversations they had just had changed pretty much everything for them, but if they both felt light with hope and finally had a glimpse of their future in their heads, neither said so. Steve and Robin knew then, that whatever came their way, they could handle it, as long as they were together. At the end of the day, all either of them really needed was each other.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I have no idea if this is any good or if it even has a plot, but I love Steve and Robin and wanted to give it a go anyway. I hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
